


Sudden Alarm

by ShatteredFeathers



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fire Alarm AU, Fluff, M/M, Rating might be raised later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-02-22 10:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2503946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShatteredFeathers/pseuds/ShatteredFeathers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody particularly wants to be woken up at 5 a.m by the fire alarm, but this turns out better than expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is roughly based off an actual event that happened when I was living in my last apartment. Unfortunately, there was no mostly-naked Thorin to make up for it. It's also based off a prompt I saw on tumblr once.

 

     It was five in the morning when Bilbo woke, bleary-eyed and trying to figure out where that God-forsaken noise was coming from. A few sleepy moments and one concerned cat meowing later, he jumped to his feet. The fire alarm. It wasn't Friday, so it wasn't the monthly test that always managed to startle him even with a week's notice. This was different. Heart pounding, he threw on the nearest clothes. Being the prepared sort of man he is, he always kept emergency clothes near his bed. It was on of his worst fears to be caught in a moment like this with no clothes. Showering was a nightmare.

     His cat, a small fluffy white-and-tabby named Lucy, was already pawing at the front door. Smart move, for the animal who once rolled off the back of Bilbo's writing desk in her sleep. Bilbo scooped her up, planting a quick kiss on her head. The cat chirped indignantly at being shoved unceremoniously into her carrier.

     “Sorry, Lucy, darling, I'll explain later, there's treats in it for you if you're good.” Bilbo comforted, not bothering to tie his shoes as he grabbed his coat and Lucy and rushed out the door. He paused outside the elevator. Right. Fires. Elevators and fires are bad. Of course. He turned and darted down the hall to the stairwell. He took one deep breath and dashed down the steps two at a time, all 8 floors down.

     Bilbo was panting for breath at the bottom, even in the chilly winter air. There must have been two feet of snow on the ground. Of course. These things never happen on a beautiful spring afternoon, do they? No, it just had to be in the middle of winter on his day off. Lucy pawed at the net window of her carrier, meowing for the treats she was sure were promised her. Bilbo had hardly crossed the parking lot and caught his breath before he was interrupted.

     “Is that a cat?” A small voice asked excitedly from somewhere around Bilbo's left hip. He turned to the source. A tiny child with dark hair blinked up at him with disconcertingly large eyes. Bilbo couldn't tell the child's gender through the haphazardly wrapped multi-coloured scarves and too large sweaters.

     “Pardon? Oh! Yes, this is Lucy.” Bilbo tried his best at a warm smile, through his exhaustion (and growing annoyance, as there was no smoke and no trucks and the alarms were echoing in the still air). He held the carrier's netted-window out towards the child. Lucy pressed her face against the mesh in response, hopeful that maybe this human had treats, since _her_ human had clearly lied to her. The child laughed, running their fingers over the fur poking through the screen.

     “Hey! Is that a cat?” Another child appeared out of the huddled crowd and pushed the first out of the way. This one was taller and wrapped in slightly fewer scarves and only a few sweaters.

     “I WAS LOOKING AT IT FIRST!” The smaller cried. A few people nearby flinched.

     “And now I am. It's my turn.” Their voice was weirdly calm and authoritative for arguing over who gets to pet a cat.

     “But he-”

     “She.” Bilbo cut in, amused.

     “ _She_ likes me more.” The first child finished, crossing their arms firmly over their chest and looking quite proud of themself.

     “Fili! Kili! Don't bother strangers.” Another voice, deeper and rougher, silenced the squabbling.

_Oh good,_ Bilbo thought, annoyance mounting,  _I'm going to meet the entire building today._

     “Sorry, Uncle.” The two children intoned as one, as if rehearsed. Bilbo suspected they simply had a lot of practice.

     “I'm sorry. These are my nephews and they have yet to learn their manners.” The newcomer growled, not really to Bilbo but just to the world in general.

     “Oh, it's quite alright. This happens more than you'd expe-...” Bilbo looked up from Lucy's carrier. And up. And slightly farther up. Oh. He was tall. Bilbo swallowed. “Than you'd expect.” He finished at a slightly higher pitch than he started with.

     “Don't tell them it's alright. They'll never learn. Boys, tell Mr...” The stranger paused and tilted his head at Bilbo.

     “Baggins. Bilbo Baggins.” Bilbo said, attempting, once again, to make eye contact with the massive man in front of him. He failed when he came to the sudden realization that this stranger was mostly naked. The man must have been freezing in his blue boxers but showed no sign of it being anything other than a fine day in June. Bilbo flushed and prayed to every deity and spirit and to his dear sweet departed mother (who have would surely had some comments on this man's physique) that the redness from the freezing wind would be enough of an excuse.

     Bilbo came to the conclusion that Thorin did not have any children of his own and was not used to dressing two squirming boys for the winter in an orderly fashion. This would explain the 20 scarves wrapped around his nephews but did not explain a.) why one man owned so many scarves, nor did it explain b.) why this tall, muscled, serious stranger was very pointedly not making eye contact with Bilbo, cheeks slightly redder than the wind could account for.

     “I'm Kili!” The tiniest child exclaimed, forgetting that he was supposed to be sorry for something. “This is Fili. He's my brother. I like your cat, she's a nice cat. Can we come over and play with her? We used to have a cat but she ran away. My mommy says he might come back one day, that we should always be hopeful, but that was a long time ago, she said that about my daddy, too-”

     Fili lifted one mittened hand and placed it firmly over his brother's mouth. “And this is our Uncle Thorin. We're sorry if we bothered you, Mr. Baggins.” He shuffled his feet and studied the pavement. The fire alarms were still ringing.

     “Apology accepted. It's really no trouble at all. And since you were so quick to say sorry, I suppose if it's alright with your uncle you could come visit Lucy. She loves people, if you give her treats.” Bilbo smiled. Kili bounced on the balls of his feet, staring up at his uncle expectantly. Lucy was turning in tight circles in her carrier, trying to find these treats that everyone keeps saying she would get but no one has given her. Humans - if she knew how to open a tin of food herself, she would have no need for them.

     Thorin sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. _It really is a magnificent nose,_ Bilbo's thought came unbidden. He turned slightly pinker and glanced up at Thorin. 

     “Fine. I'll never have another moment's peace if I say no. But you have to,” Thorin fumbled, trying to think of a sufficiently responsible-parent thing to say. “Eat all of your vegetables at dinner. Understood?”

     “THANK YOU, UNCLE!” Kili shrieked, throwing himself at his uncle, knocking him backward a few steps. Fili mumbled a quiet “thanks.” Thorin's lip twitched and Bilbo attempted to quiet the butterflies in his stomach.

     It was then that they noticed the fire alarms had stopped. The small group looked around in confusion. No trucks, no smoke, presumably no fire, and no real explanation (they would never get one; the building manager was a bit... _unreliable,_ to say the least), but people were shoving through to get inside anyway. It was cold and people were tired and several were nearly late for work. 

     Bilbo started. “Oh, no! I've been so rude, I'm so sorry. You must be freezing! I didn't even offer my coat or anything! Please, take this, I have more.” He was horrified, coat half off before Thorin made a noise that Bilbo only vaguely realized was a laugh. 

     “Mr. Baggins, your coat might make a sleeve.” There was the tiniest twitch at the corner of Thorin's mouth. Bilbo's stomach flipped. 

     “Oh, um, right. Of course. Well, you should still come over. Bring the boys, they can meet Lucy and I have hot chocolate and tea. You need tea, you're going to catch cold like this, and I could get some cakes at that nice bakery down the street, such a nice family, need all the help they can get really...” Bilbo rambled on like this for several minutes. Fili and Kili glanced meaningfully at each other. Kili nodded, just enough for his brother to notice.

     “Mr. Baggins, our uncle likes peppermint hot chocolate.” Fili said casually, following the herd of people towards the door.

     Bilbo smiled, actually warmly this time. He was much more awake now, and a touch less cold. “I'll keep that in mind, Fili. And it's Bilbo. None of this 'mister' business.” He looked up at Thorin, who was glaring in the general direction of everywhere. “I live in 809. See you after dinner.” In a stunning show of courage, Bilbo winked before getting lost in the crowd moving towards the elevators. 

     In his wake, he left Thorin standing frozen and most certainly blushing this time. Fili and Kili were whispering to each other about what offerings to present to Lucy and Bilbo. They figured it was best to get on their good sides early.

     Inside the elevator, Lucy was meowing quite insistently for those treats she was promised  _ages_ ago. Bilbo was planning a quick shopping trip for some peppermint... and maybe a few other things. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof. I had the hardest time with this chapter. I should probably explain now that I live with my partner's father at the moment, and am living with a couple chronic health problems. This all makes it very hard to write, so updating will probably be sporadic and my writing quality might go up and down a bit. Sorry in advance.

     The knock came at exactly 7 p.m.

     “Kitty!” Kili pushed past Bilbo as soon as he opened the door.

     “Hello again, Mr. Baggins,” Thorin rumbled, trying to cover his laughter as Lucy desperately tried to escape Kili's gentle but determined hugs.

     “Bilbo, please. Come in! Don't spend all evening standing there in the hallway.” Bilbo said, ushering his guests to the couch.

     Thorin perched awkwardly on the edge of the cushion. Lucy, having finally wriggled free from Kili, crawled toward him curiously. Perhaps this large human would protect her? She sniffed his pant leg and seemingly approved, as she promptly flopped onto her side against him, purring. Thorin froze, holding one hand nervously over her head.

     “You can pet her. She likes you.” Bilbo smiled. Lucy was very particular with her affections, but once she latched onto someone, she rarely left their side. She and Bilbo shared that quality. “So, I believe I promised you boys some hot chocolate?” He turned to Fili and Kili, who were hovering near the kitchen door attempting to look like they weren't expectant.

     “Yes, please, we were really good, we ate all our vegetables even though Uncle didn't really make many, he said he didn't want an excuse to not come-” Kili gushed before Fili once again placed a hand over his brother's mouth.

     “Do you have whipped cream?” Fili asked, hopefully. Somewhere behind him, Thorin coughed uncomfortably.

     “I went shopping, I have everything for a perfect hot chocolate bar.” Bilbo ignored the coughing and gestured grandly to the empty counter, feeling vaguely like a cooking show host. “Wanna help me set everything up?”

     Fili nodded excitedly. Kili bounced on the balls of his feet. “Can I help too?”

     Bilbo thought for a moment of his glass bowls, ceramic mugs, and the general clumsiness of children. “Kili, why don't you go play with Lucy for a moment...” He trailed off, having turned around to see Thorin smiling unrestrained and carefully kissing a sleeping cat nose. The butterflies in is stomach fluttered. They had been doing that rather a lot today. “Okay, Kili, let Lucy sleep. You can help. Carefully.”

 

     All in all, setting up the hot chocolate bar had been a success. Kili had only broken one tiny bowl, in his excitement that Lucy had meowed softly in her sleep. Thankfully, this was _before_ Bilbo had poured the rainbow sprinkles (what, he wasn't making a point or anything, that's just what colour sprinkles they had in stock) into the bowl and thus prevented the kitchen from being flooded in tiny colourful sugar bits.

     Bilbo leaned through the kitchen doorway to call to Thorin. “You can come get some hot chocolate now; the milk is warm and there are mugs and peppermint and anything else you desire.”

     Thorin blinked up at Bilbo. “Just a moment.” He said, carefully extracting himself Lucy's paws without waking her. In the kitchen, he hesitated over the mugs. Kili had chosen a pretty green mug with leaves on it, while Fili had chosen one with a lion. Thorin chose the royal blue one, noting in passing that it seemed to have come from the same set as Bilbo's dark ruby-red one.

     Each mug was carefully filled with hot milk (Fili proudly filled his own, while Kili pouted that he wasn't allowed, until he remembered the bowl) and the hot chocolate powder was measured out and stirred. The kitchen smelled like a chocolate factory and Thorin's mouth watered. Damn his sweet-tooth. He was only doing this for the boys. They stayed with him over school breaks and didn't have a lot of friends here, or really anyone else to talk to. This would be good for them. He frowned as Kili dumped half a cup of sprinkles over a cup of whipped cream on his hot chocolate. Okay, maybe not _that_ good for them.

 

     Finally, every had their treats and were settled in the living room watching the snow come down outside. It was drifting against the balcony door. The wind howled and Bilbo shivered a little, partly from disquiet and partly because his heater had been broken for the last month. The children seated on the floor didn't seem to notice. They were cross-legged on the floor with Lucy between them, “discussing” what her favorite colour is so they could get her a toy she'd like. The cat watched them in mild amusement. Thorin, seated on the other end of the couch from Bilbo, didn't seem to care either. He was content watching his nephews (and Bilbo, out of the corner of his eye) and drinking his hot chocolate with more peppermint than any normal person could stand.

     Bilbo's chest was tight. This was all so... _domestic._ It reminded him of Christmas mornings with his parents, that perfect safety and gentleness. This was not at all appropriate to be feeling with someone he met that morning. His father must be turning in his grave. His mother would be smiling behind her hand, eyes twinkling in that way they only did when she was so tremendously happy for her family. Bilbo jumped to his feet, striding to gaze out the balcony door before the first tear rolled down one cheek.

     “Mr. Bilbo, are you okay?” Kili asked, having given up arguing that Lucy's favorite colour was purple (he was right, for the record, but Lucy had no way of telling him).

     Bilbo wiped his face. “Of course! I was just admiring the snow. My mother would have loved it. Almost Christmas. It was her favorite holiday, you know.”

     Neither Fili nor Kili noticed the crack in Bilbo's voice; they were to young to recognize hidden grief. Thorin noticed, with a pang. He had heard that sound in his voice when he told Fili and Kili stories about their other uncle. He cleared his throat. “She sounds like a lovely woman.”

     “She was.” Bilbo sighed softly. The wind was picking up outside, whipping the trees across the street. Bilbo swore he could hear the branches cracking.

     “Boys, it's getting late, we should head home.” Thorin said, frowning at the back of Bilbo's head. Bilbo had to bite his tongue to keep from begging them to stay.

     “But Uncle Thorin-” Fili started, but was cut off by a loud crack from across the street. The small apartment plunged into darkness

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out transformers aren't immune to falling tree branches. Also, this fic really needs more bb!Fili. I'll work on that next chapter~


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short, dialogue heavy chapter trying to get back into the swing of writing. Sorry for the super long wait!

     One of the toy boys let out a tiny squeal of terror. Thorin blinked slowly, trying to allow his eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness.

     Bilbo shook his head and coughed. “Well, then. No worries! I have some flashlights in the hall closet.” He shuffled towards what was supposed to be a linens closest but had really just turned into a catch-all. The flashlights were located without incident behind a bottle of tub cleaner that Bilbo didn't actually remember purchasing. He flicked one on and rolled it across the floor to Fili.

     The boy smiled gratefully and immediately checked the dark corners of the room for monsters. He was a boy who knew his priorities, and his top one was keeping his brother safe from monsters. The beam of light touched each corner of the room in turn. Lucy perked up. Her ears twitched, eyes wide and butt wiggling in the air. _I'm going to catch that mysterious light._ With a chirp, she launched herself across the room.

     And directly under Bilbo's feet.

     It all happened so quickly that he didn't have a chance to react. His first instinct was to catch himself, which turned out to be a bad idea. He fell with a thud and a muffled crunch that he didn't hear so much as feel. Pain bloomed in his right wrist. He bit back a curse. Lucy leapt away, looking rather indignant.

     “Bilbo!” Thorin was on his feet in an instant. “Are you all right?” He knelt, hand hovering over Bilbo's shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

     “I'm fine, Thorin,” He started, voice strangled. “Okay, I'm not. I think my wrist is...” He lifted it gingerly. Even in the dim flashlight glow Thorin could see the swelling.

     “Fili, Kili! Get your shoes on and run home and grab your bags. I'm taking you home early, and Bilbo to the hospital.”

     Fili was horrified. This was his fault, Mr. Bilbo was never going to forgive him, this was a bad example to set for his brother, his mother would be furious, he'd ruined his uncle's chance with-

     “Fili, come on!” Kili shook his brother and pulled him to his feet. Fili followed numbly.

 

     Thorin helped Bilbo up. “Is anything else broken?”

     “N-no, it's okay.” Bilbo choked out, keenly aware of Thorin's warmth next to him, smelling like peppermint and leather.

     The two men wrapped themselves in coats, and Bilbo blushed the entire time Thorin tied his shoes for him. Bilbo located his wallet, Thorin accepted Bilbo's spare key. Fili and Kili were standing outside the apartment looking terrified. Fili's face was streaked with tears.

     “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, please don't never talk to us again.” He sobbed.

     Bilbo smiled. “Fili, it's okay. Don't worry yourself about it.”

     Thorin was suddenly very close at his shoulder. “Elevator. Wait by the lobby door; I'll get the car.”

 

     It was an uneventful ride to Thorin's sister's home. The storm had mostly subsided, minus the heavy rain. Bilbo was shotgun, cradling his wrist. Fili was sniffling in the backseat, Kili patting his back halfheartedly. They turned into a driveway outside a pretty, modest brick house. Bilbo couldn’t help but notice the lovely flowers and made a mental note to research them when he got the chance. Thorin left the car running and jogged up the sidewalk. Bilbo took the opportunity to shamelessly check out his neighbor's ass. What? He just broke his wrist.

     The door opened. Thorin's sister looked completely unsurprised to see Thorin standing there in the pouring rain, fidgeting with his keys and trying to look composed.

     She was maybe half an inch shorter, but otherwise the spitting image of her brother. It was a little off putting, for a moment.

     “Mom and Uncle Thorin are twins. That's how she knew he'd be here.” Kili piped up, answering Bilbo's question before it left his lips.

     Thorin knocked on the car window with one knuckle, making the universal “roll down the window” gesture. Bilbo leaned to his left and pressed the button.

     “I'm Dis,” The woman smiled, eyes twinkling with something that sent nervous shivers down Bilbo's spine. “Sorry about your wrist, once you're healed up we should go out for coffee. I like knowing my brother's... _friends._ ”

     “Oh, we're neighbors. We just met today actually. I'm not sure if I'd...” Over Dis's shoulder, Bilbo saw Thorin's frown ever-so-slightly. “That sounds lovely, Dis. Thank you for the offer.”

     “Wonderful! Boys, get inside,” Dis popped open the back door, “Fili, you're not in trouble.” She whispered as he walked by, trudging towards the door like a man walking to the electric chair. “See you soon, Bilbo. Good luck with your break.”

     “Thanks, Dis.” Bilbo smiled, despite the persistent pain he was still in.

     “Okay, get going. Bilbo's trying to look like everything's fine and is failing.” Dis nudged Thorin. “Be careful.” There was something in her tone... Bilbo shook his head, focusing on the moment and Thorin climbing back into the driver's seat.

     He sighed heavily at his sister's retreating figure. “Let's go, Bilbo.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooh I really love Dis.

**Author's Note:**

> So... what do you want to see happen next? Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
